Road Cycling Shoes
It’s all about the mould
Shoe manufacturers that offer the choice of only 3-bolt soles and heat moulding with a wide fitting option as well.
This Australian ‘skate company’ are arguably responsible for a major shake up of the cycle shoe market. Bont were one of the “trends” that rose to prominence with the 2008 Olympics, along with Oakley Radars, and aero wheels and frames. They achieved ultimate notoriety when a certain track rider won the Tour de France 4 years later.
Bont should be up there at the start of this list as the offer-it-all-brand with Lake, as they used to make a Speedplay specific sole but for some reason have discontinued it, making do with just the standard sole…
To help you get the perfect fit, they do offer both wide and narrow fittings, as well as the standard fit, and also if your budget stretches that far, do full custom sizing and custom colour options.
Bont recently launched a new top model, the Bont Vaypor S, which retails for about £270. The Bont Vaypor +, previously their top of the range shoe, is available discounted now online.
Bont also have some interesting options for track, triathlon and off-road. Their previous commuter was a standard Bont road shoe with rubber pontoons for walking, great for long gravel rides but a little too stiff for cyclocross races. In early 2014 they introduced a “budget” range, the Riot, that has the same heat moldable shoe body as the expensive models, but dropping some of the width options and customisation.
They are fairly adaptable for whichever pedal system you prefer by using a drill and Bont T-nuts, though they don’t work for Speedplay which require a flat footbed not a rounded one.
Bont shoes range of features include a super stiff, unidirectional carbon monocoque sole, a Durolite upper, memory foam padding and so on. The carbon sole is fully heat mouldable and can be reheated over and over, giving you plenty of opportunities to get the fit right. It is recommended when performing the moulding process to start out with a lower temperature and have a good thermometer. Depending on the oven it can take a few goes to get the perfect fit; Bont have some videos to help you get the process right. It is not a good idea to walk in them after pulling them out of the oven, as the carbon will crack, and also to stand on some carpet. You can use a round end of a screwdriver or a rolling-pin to push the carbon into a better shape if needed
The shoes are designed to last (forgive the pun) and everything is replaceable if you damage them or they wear out, so you can justify it to your other half as investing your money wisely…
Bonts have a lower heel cup design, which obviously doesn’t affect performance, but is different. You may not like it so best to try before you buy if possible, do bare in mind that they are a very different feeling to the usual slipper like cycling shoes as the “bathtub” sole wraps itself around your foot. This makes the shoes a very “Marmite” experience, as some people don’t like the feeling and yet for others it’s the best thing since sliced bread. One person likened it to having put his feet in a bear trap, and loves them.
Bont do offer a range of more cost-effective shoes, but given the range of options available, the Vaypor+, whilst not cheap, seems like really good value when compared to a lot of other brands’ shoes.
However, two of our testers have experienced discomfort from hot spots during longer rides and care has to be taken when tightening Bonts not to overdo it too early in a ride. A gradual tightening as the ride progresses approach seems to work very well. Still they are highly recommended if you can get the fit right.
We’ll have full reviews of the latest Bonts soon.
Shimano have a great range of shoes, unsurprisingly designed to work most effectively in conjunction with their SPD-SL pedal system.
The Shimano-R321 offers custom fit, aero looks and are impressively stiff
They offer varying levels of customisation depending upon the shoe you choose. Their top R321 road shoes have a wrap around upper like an overshoe, that helps hold the foot snug and aids aerodynamics. With Shimano it is not about a heat mouldable sole but insole and upper. To do this the shoes should be fitted to your feet inside a special vacuum oven, which can only be found in certain stores but once done, presents a glove like fit. The sole is wide to fully support Shimano’s wide SPD-SL cleat. Shimano also offer wide fit as an option as well.
We are big fans of Shimano shoes and many of our reviewers have used them successfully. Highly recommended.
Companies that offer a three bolt fitting sole only
Specialized make some of the most popular shoes among pro cyclists, thanks largely to their BodyGeometry (BG) project. The top shoe is the S-Works Road shoe. Obviously there’s BOA closure but also a lone velcro strap for extra reassurance…
Specialized S-Works Road shoe
Unlike the manufacturers above there’s no thermo-moulding; instead the Specialized BG program developed a clever system of varying insoles and shims to make sure that the fit and resultant knee alignment is good, so you are pedalling in the ideal, vertical plane.
We were surprised to find that only two of our pool of reviewers has Specialized shoes, given how popular they are generally; still they come highly recommended. Look out for a review of the new S-Works shoes soon.
Many of our reviewers have used DMT before and it was the shoe used by Phil Gilbert for many years when he was at the very top of his game, so you’d expect that it’s good.
The top of the range shoe is the DMT Vega which is said to be a roomy shoe, best suited to riders with wider feet. There’s a new DMT Vega 2.0 for 2015 which looks good and is used to great effect by SKY’s Elia Viviani.
The 2015 DMT Vega 2.0
The Vega is a good-looking shoe with plenty of features. DMT does offer a Speedplay sole on their mid-range Hydra shoe but not on this top of the range model.
Paul tested a pair of Spiuk shoes some time ago and is still happily using them, which is a good sign, but none of our other reviewers have tried Spiuk yet. The top model, the Spiuk 16rc, is used to good effect by some riders we know well here in the UK.
The Spiuk 16RC is a top shoe at a reasonable price
Bold designs with bright colours and light overall weight, Spiuk shoes tend to have a good roomy toe box, reassuring if you have wider feet.
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